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Warning siren's song too soft for some

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: October 21, 2009

PLANT CITY - The Southwest Florida Water Management District performed its first monthly audible test Oct. 3 of three sirens installed near the Edward Medard Park reservoir in southeast Hillsborough County.

The test didn't exactly come off without a hitch. There was a delay of one hour from the expected noon start. Once activated, one of the three sirens in the system didn't work. And the continuous tone that was supposed to sound for 30 seconds became a series of short blasts that were hardly noticeable from one mile away, witnesses to the test said.

"Tests are done for a reason," said Mike Holtkamp, the director of operations for Swiftmud. "We discovered a few bugs in the system and will make the adjustments necessary to get it right."

The audible testing will continue to occur at noon on the first Saturday monthly. The next test is due Nov. 7.

"The tests are made to ensure these sirens perform properly," Swiftmud spokeswoman Robyn Felix said. "They will be operated in an emergency situation when a breach in the reservoir berm seems imminent."

During the Oct. 3, test, the sirens gave 10 short blasts that had a distinctly vibrating electronic sound to it, rather than the old style sirens used by national defense sirens.

"During the November test we will use a continuous blast for 30 seconds that should measure 70 decibels at one mile, and 60 decibels two miles from the siren horn," Holtkamp said.

During the October test Durant resident Janice Davis said the siren was barely noticeable. The Davis home is about 500 yards southwest of the reservoir siren, with thick woods between her home and the siren tower.

"I was expecting the test," Davis said. "I was inside the house and with the TV playing I could hardly hear the siren. It was the high-pitched sound you might expect. It was more like a train's horn being blown a long ways away. If I wasn't expecting it I might not have paid any attention."

The sirens were installed at the request of residents who attended public meetings held in 2003, Felix said.

The 700-acre reservoir is just east of Turkey Creek Road, south of State Road 60.

One siren is at the entrance to the reservoir dam. The second siren is one mile east of where Bloomingdale Avenue dead-ends at New River Hills Parkway. The third is on the west side of River Drive just south of Lithia-Pinecrest Road.

In the case of a real emergency at the dam, the sirens would be activated with alternating intervals of three minutes of sound followed by three minutes of silence to alert residents to evacuate and seek higher ground. This would continue until the conclusion of the emergency situation.

For information, call the district's operations department at 1-800-423-1476 or (352) 796-7211.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 731-8161.

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